Visited August 26-28, 2022
By Janell
We were in a Springfield, IL suburb for three nights, but we were in "tourist mode" in Springfield for just one day. It was a very full day though, as you will soon see.
NOTE: If you click on any photo you will see all photos from the post in larger format and higher resolution
Visited August 26-28, 2022
By Janell
We were in a Springfield, IL suburb for three nights, but we were in "tourist mode" in Springfield for just one day. It was a very full day though, as you will soon see.
Dates visited: August 20 - 25, 2022
By Marty
Our KOA park was 25 minutes east of Indianapolis. On the one occasion that we went into the city we drove to a suburb and rode our bikes on the Monon trail (a rails to trails paved multi-use path) into the city center.
Soldiers & Sailors Monument
From the web:
Recognized as one of the world's outstanding monuments the Soldiers & Sailors Monument is Indiana's official memorial to the Hoosiers that served in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Frontier Wars, and the Spanish-American War.
Constructed in 1902 the monument stands 284' tall, just 15' shorter than the Statue of Liberty. Elaborate sculptures like those you see in the photo above can be found on all four sides of the monument.
Indiana State Capitol
We have visited a number of State Capitols, but also missed a few because of Covid closures. The Indiana Capitol interiors are as impressive as any that we have seen.
You're not looking down, you're looking up!
I placed my phone on the floor in the center of the rotunda and used the timer for this photo. In the photo above this one you can see a portion of this blue glass rotunda ceiling.
Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad - The Levi and Catharine Coffin Home
Over a 20 year period Levi and Catherine Coffin, from their home in Newport, Indiana, worked to provide transportation, shelter, food and clothing to more than 1,000 enslaved people seeking freedom.
The Coffin House is a State of Indiana museum and Interpretive Center. It was ranked as one of the nation's "Top 25 Historical Sites" by the History Channel.
From the museum's website:
For their journeys north, freedom-seekers often used three main routes to cross from slavery to freedom—through Madison or Jeffersonville in Indiana, or Cincinnati, Ohio. From these points, slaves traveled to Newport through the Underground Railroad. The Coffins’ “station” was so successful that every person who passed through eventually reached freedom.
The location of the house, on Highway 27 at the center of an abolitionist Quaker community, allowed the entire community to act as lookouts for the Coffins and give them plenty of warning when bounty hunters came into town.
The rocker bench is called a "mammy bench rocker". The front board on the right side keeps the baby from rolling off but it can be removed when not needed.
This room is the servants quarters (paid servants, not slaves)
Indiana was a free state but the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850 allowed bounty hunters to pursue runaway slaves (freedom seekers) anywhere in the U.S. and compelled citizens to assist in the capture of runaways. A fine of $1,000 and six months in jail was the penalty for helping runaways.
However, the bounty hunters were required to obtain a search warrant to enter a home. This was not always expedient in a free state like Indiana so the Coffin home was not often subjected to searches. On one occasion when their home was searched the crawl space behind the beds was used to hide 17 freedom seekers! The bed was moved over to hide the door.
The false bottom under the grain sacks would conceal freedom seekers while in transit
We are not big antique shop people. So many of them, to us, are junky and tacky and smell funny! I must say, though, that we were really impressed with the quality of the shops in Cambridge City.
The Abraham Lincoln Funeral Train passed through Cambridge City on it's way to Springfield Illinois on April 30, 1865.
Hoosier Gym - from the movie "Hoosiers"
We stumbled onto the gym where the fictitious Hickory Huskers played their basketball games. Hoosiers is one of my favorite all-time movies. Of movies that I have watched more than once, this one tops the list for viewings. Including my latest viewing a few days ago.... I have seen it 5 or 6 times!
Hickory Huskers all the way!
Hoosiers is rated the 4th best sports film by the American Film Institute
The movie trailer: